Alan Llavore | Office of Marketing and Communications| (909) 537-5007 | allavore@csusb.edu
Alumnus Gordon Amerson didn’t grow up dreaming of playing Major League Baseball — he envisioned a career in medicine. Yet his trajectory took him from the life of a professional athlete to earning multiple degrees and discovering a deeper passion: shaping lives through education and leadership.
Today, Amerson serves as superintendent of Val Verde Unified School District and is recognized for his professional achievements and the lasting impact he has made in his community. In February 2025, CSUSB’s Black Faculty, Staff and Student Association paid tribute to him with the Distinguished Alumni Award during its annual Pioneer Breakfast.
“I was honored,” Amerson said. “To still be involved with the place that was foundational to my success is a privilege. I’m grateful to be in a position where I can give back to the university that gave me so much.”
Amerson’s connection to CSUSB runs deep, both personally and professionally.
“I’ve been a San Bernardino City Unified School District kid my whole life, from kindergarten through high school to serving as a science teacher, high school principal, and eventually the district’s director of human resources for several years,” he said.
His family’s custodial service business had a contract with the university, and he recalls cleaning buildings on campus as a teen before he became a student. He earned a bachelor’s degree in health science administration from CSUSB in 2001 and returned to complete his Ed.D. in educational leadership in 2014. His wife, Veronica Ramirez Amerson, is the director of CSUSB’s Educational Opportunity Program (EOP), which supports low-income, first-generation students, including foster youth, through the Renaissance Scholars Program.
While medicine may have been his early goal, Amerson’s athletic talents opened unexpected doors. A multi-sport athlete in high school, he was drafted by the San Diego Padres as soon as he graduated from San Gorgonio High School in 1994 and spent three seasons in their minor league system before being traded to the New York Yankees. His name even briefly appeared on ESPN, not for his stats, he is quick to point out with a laugh, but for being part of a high-profile trade.
But after five seasons, an injury benched him along with his hopes of a long-term career as a professional athlete. “I broke the scaphoid bone in my left hand diving for a ball in the outfield, and it snapped,” Amerson recalled. “I had multiple surgeries. My body couldn’t perform at the level I needed. It was time to move on.”
Unbeknownst to Amerson, his mother, who also served as his sports agent, had negotiated a full college scholarship as part of his contract, so while he had been attending classes part-time at CSUSB between spring trainings, he had the option to return to school full-time. He began building a new future at CSUSB.
After graduating in 2001, he became a hospital administrator, which, in his words, was “mind-numbing. I’m a people-person and wanted to interact with people, not X-rays and paperwork.” It was not the new future he had envisioned.
But while pondering his next steps, Amerson was presented with what he described as one of life’s “shoulder taps,” a call to respond to an opportunity with potentially life-changing implications. A family friend called and encouraged him to apply for a teaching job at a brand-new high school in San Bernardino, Arroyo Valley. He was hired as a biology teacher and was also named assistant coach for football and baseball. “That moment changed everything,” he said. “Teaching and coaching, that’s where I found my passion.”
For Amerson, coaching athletes quickly evolved into mentoring students and staff. Through the years his career moved into administration — he was named assistant principal at San Bernardino High, then principal at Arroyo Valley High, associate superintendent of human resources at Capistrano Unified and superintendent at Duarte Unified School District before joining Val Verde Unified as superintendent in 2024. Along the way he developed a leadership style rooted in empathy, strategy and strengths-based development — the concept that people thrive when they work from their natural talents.
“I’m all in on strengths-based leadership,” he said. “When people understand their gifts, and when leaders know how to nurture those gifts, everything improves: productivity, job satisfaction, engagement. It becomes a force multiplier.”
After formal training with Gallup Inc. in 2016, Amerson began coaching others, not just in K-12 schools, but in higher education, city government and nonprofit organizations. Today, at Val Verde Unified, he is in the process of embedding that mindset districtwide. “I've been very intentional about building strengths-based culture in the organizations that I've led,” he said.
His growing YouTube channel provides practical advice on educational leadership, how to interview for jobs and professional development. “That’s my Friday night gig,” he joked. “Some people play guitar at the local coffee shop. I make a video to help the next principal nail their job interview.”
Despite the demands of his role as superintendent, Amerson maintains close ties with CSUSB. Whether serving on alumni panels, leading workshops or mentoring students, he actively champions the university and its mission. “Cal State San Bernardino does fantastic work, but sometimes it operates in the shadows,” he said. “I want people to know what’s happening there. The university was a foundation for my success and I want to be a bullhorn for it.”
He is also a robust supporter of programs like EOP and Renaissance Scholars, which align with his family’s values and lived experiences. “It’s not just about giving money,” he said. “It’s about showing up, giving time and being present.”
To current CSUSB students, Amerson offers simple but powerful advice: stay connected. “The best part of any university is the people,” he said. “Find the beacons of light, whether faculty, staff or mentors, and stay in touch. They’ll be sources of wisdom for the rest of your life.”
Looking ahead, Amerson remains excited about both his district’s progress and his personal projects. He plans to write a book focused on leadership and continues to speak, coach and consult on building strong, mission-driven organizations.
“My career, in a lot of ways, has been a series of shoulder taps. My injury actually allowed me to find my life’s calling and my passion around being an educator,” he said. “I had the athletic experience, then I learned the coach experience, and the coach experience has been foundational to my leadership experience.”
Now, 25 years into a public education career he hadn’t planned for, Amerson begins each day with purpose. “I have not worked a day in my life,” he said. “I wake up and I get to do the thing I was actually meant to do. I’m doing exactly what I’m supposed to be doing.”